NAME: AltoonaCOUNTY:WahkiakumROADS:2WDGRID:6CLIMATE: Cool
winter and summer.
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime.

COMMENTS:On the water.REMAINS: Many
remnants including the docks. - Update - There are no docks, no warehouse,
nothing except a few older
houses that look like people are living in.- Mark Lewis

To have survived in Altoona during its
early days was a mark of individual achievement. Located on the
north shore of the Columbia River near its mouth. Altoona was
accessible only by boat until the early 1950s when a road from
civilization finally reached the town. Being salmon country,
a cannery was the main business in Altoona from the 1870s until
the cannery closed in the late 1940s when canning became unprofitable.
With the closing of the cannery, river traffic dwindled to practically
nothing thus sealing the fate of Altoona. Pilings, docks, wharves
and buildings from the olden days, although seldom used, offer
an excellent picture of life and the early days of Altoona. Submitted
by Henry Chenowith.